German lessons

When I first laid eyes on this custom dyed Campfire colourway of Alley Cat Fingering sock yarn from the ladies at Wandering Cat Yarns I was thrilled. Exactly the mix of rich oranges and coppery oranges that I had envisioned. Next I had to decide on a sock pattern to show these beautiful oranges to best advantage. That's when I found Esther by Stephanie van der Linden. Just a few weeks ago I finished a pair of her Komet socks, and I love them, so I thought I'd have a little look see at her other designs. Wow.

Most of her designs are in German - the English versions seem to have been translated by someone unfamiliar with North American knitting terminology. For instance, Ktbl is instead called a "twist stitch". It can make following her patterns in English challenging. And amusing when you come across instructions like "... knit one more round und increase 10 stitches .." But one thing I've learned - what we call a Picot edge is called Mausezähnchenkante in German. Literal translation? Mouse teeth edging. Yes, I'm learning German one stitch at a time.